I'd like to warn somebody of one of their harmful managers, or even a so-called fake friend, so I say it like this:
Don't trust him! He is nothing but a cunning person who is trying to harm you/put you down, with his special ability , so gradually, *smoothly,softly, wisely, and, secretly* via a pre-planned plot that you won't even notice or suspect his intentions.
What idiom, phrase, term, … could be used for describing this wise person/ fake friend/whatever you name it, -or his ability-*while focusing on using his wisdom for doing his hidden harmful actions smoothly!
P.S 1: I have found "back-stabber"; "two-faced"; "a snake in the grass"; "a wolf in sheep's clothing"; but none of them cover all those attributes as a whole.
-(there is an idiom in my country which says" Don't trust him! He cuts off the throats/ heads with cotton!)
-( these people are potentially good politicians!, so you can use this idiom even for countries or politicians who achieve their goals by acting in this way!)
Note: my question has been marked as "duplicate", but the answer I'm looking for, has nothing to do with answer which user87131 is looking for, he/she is focusing on a liar fake friend, and me, on some other attributes and actually maybe this person is not necessarily a friend, maybe he is someone whom I am obliged to deal with,!!. Please reopen my question, if possible! -(Sorry, Everybody! I had to edit my question!)
P.S2: I just found these political terms: "Soft War", "soft power"! And both can totally convey the meaning I am looking for, so Can I use them In non-political cases, too? , Like: , "Don't trust him, he is good at soft war!/ he is good at applying soft power"?
Best Answer
"Silver-tongued devil" accurately describes many politicians, whose "fluent and persuasive speech" has gotten them where they are (the Free Dictionary), but to fit your scenario, I'd use it with one (all?) of your suggestions to fully capture the "backstabbing" notion : "a two-faced, backstabbing, snake-in-the-grass, silver-tongued devil."
For a single word, there’s an "opportunist,” who is someone that “seizes every opportunity to improve things for him/[her]self”), including “act[ing] as if they are close friends.” (Vocabulary [dot] Com).
To the extent that not all “opportunists” are wise enough to successfully execute their schemes, you could add a modifier such as “conniving [opportunist]” or “calculating [opportunist]”, to help your friend see what you see in his/her manager.